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Stock sharks compete with investor Toomas

Registration has started for the most popular stock game of Estonia, Börsihai (Stock Shark), which has undergone a cardinal change. This time, the Börsihai game will last for half a year, during which you can compete with the investor Toomas, and participation is paid. The stock game is organised by LHV together with Äripäev.

“Börsihai vs Investor Toomas” will be taking place from 2 October 2017 until 23 March 2018. The winner of the game will be the person whose securities portfolio has the highest market value at the end of the trading day on 23 March. The winner of the game will be sent with a friend to the general meeting of shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway, which is the company of one of the world's best-known investors, Warren Buffett, and which will take place in Omaha. This time, the game is paid. The fee for one portfolio is 25 euros, but there may be an unlimited number of portfolios. Players up to 19 years old (inclusive) will benefit from a 40% discount and for them, the price for one portfolio is 15 euros.

According to the Head of Brokerage of LHV, Alo Vallikivi, the main feedback in the previous years suggested that the game could last longer. “This time, we responded to that request, in order to give the players more of the most important resource of investment - time. Sometimes it takes longer in the market to take stocks with an understated value to a fair level,” he added.

As the name of the game demonstrates, one prominent player is added as a second innovation – a character invented by Äripäev – Investor Toomas. With his 15 years of experience with real money in stock and bond markets, he has been able to turn an original 64,000 euros into around 290,000 euros. This time, all participants will be able to compare themselves with Toomas on a daily basis. In order to have an even starting position, the same amount of money is added to the virtual account of the players as the investor Toomas has in his portfolio. Money will not be added during the course of the game.

According to the investor Toomas, he has been following the Börsihai game for years, and he believes that it's one of the best ways to bring people closer to investment. “For me, a more important goal than raising my own money has always been the idea to have a lot of people like the investor Toomas in Estonia,” he explained. “The charm of the stock game lies in the fact that participants can operate in non-risk markets for quite a long time and thus, gain valuable experience and knowledge. The game will probably help starting investors to save a lot of school money in the future. In addition, this year's game has the biggest award pool of all times, which will surely increase motivation. Personally, I want to find good investment ideas during the game that I can use in real life. After all, the best of the Baltics are here together.”

The players are permitted to trade with shares belonging to the Standard and Poors 500 index and with the instruments added by the organiser.When commenting on the possible course of the game, Vallikivi thought: “The financial results of companies published in October will give the game a boost. This allows traders to get a head start compared to others. Another question arises as to whether they will be able to keep it or if ideas with a longer horizon will appear”.

The main prize is a trip for two to the general meeting of shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway in Omaha, a one year subscription to the newspaper Äripäev (or Delovõje Vedomosti), and an investment-related book. The winners of the second and third prize will be awarded accordingly with 3,000 and 2,000 euros, an investment-related book and a six or three month subscription to the newspaper Äripäev (or Delovõje Vedomosti). The winners of the second and third prizes will receive the prize money in their bank account. All participants will get a three week subscription to the newspaper Äripäev (or Delovõje Vedomosti).

The meeting of shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway is considered to be the Woodstock of the investment world. While ordinary meetings of shareholders are mostly formal voting on agenda items, the Berkshire Hathaway meetings also have great entertainment value. In addition, the firms owned by the company introduce their production and offer discounts to their shareholders. Last year, about 40,000 people attended this event. Participation in the “Börsihai vs Investor Toomas” game is very easy. To do this, you need to go to www.lhv.ee/en/shark and register your portfolio. When registering a portfolio, you can also note down your job, school, or friends in order to facilitate tracking of the course of the game between its members.

The website of Börsihai has videos with tutorials that help you better understand the concept of the stock game and how to make your first transaction.

LHV has been organising the investing and trading game for 16 years already, but until 2006, the game was named the “Young Pensioner”.